Always Be
by xperfect.tears
Summary: "Could've been a night like any other..." For Rapunzel, her life was the same every week... that is until she crossed paths with one Flynn Rider.
1. Chapter 1

_**Always Be**_

_**Chapter 1.**_

She walked through the backstreets of Corona alone, like always. She hated walking through these streets especially so late at night. There was nothing wrong with the fact that the "wrong kind" of people hung around, she didn't mind whether or not drunken men or women would motion to her in the streets, laugh at her or even approach her. No, that didn't bother her at all. She knew how to handle herself, how to cope. But what she didn't like was the darkness or just the way it actually looked, it made her cringe. She liked bright, fun things, not the dark, depressing alleys that the backstreets of Corona presented her with.

She continued walking, weaving, changing directions every so often, with her head down. She hated that her mother made her do this every single week, she didn't even see why it had to be done at night either. Her mother even told her that she had to wear this black cloak, hood up. Rapunzel didn't understand why, but her mother told her it would help to protect her "gift." Her gift would be her long, shimmering blonde hair. She had asked Mother once, wanting so badly to go during the day, to see all the wonders that Corona had to offer.

"_Rapunzel, it's time for you to get going isn't it?"_

_Rapunzel quickly turned to face her mother, her blonde hair following her. She sighed._

"_Yes Mother… But why can't I go tomorrow? During the day?" She looked at her mother with pleading eyes. _

_Mother Gothel was an average, slender woman. She looked at Rapunzel with her dark eyes, the bags under them making them look a lot more terrifying. Her black, frizzy hair matched her dark eyes. Unlike Rapunzel, she loved living in the dark tower on the outskirts of Corona._

_She looked back to Rapunzel, eye brow raised, "Now flower, you know I can't let you do that. I can't have you running into people constantly, getting side tracked."_

"_Well, how do you know I won't just stay out and wait until morning?"_

_Mother Gothel answered with a throaty chuckle. "Rapunzel, you wouldn't leave your mother now, would you?" She said, putting strain on the phrase. _

_Rapunzel gulped and sighed in defeat. "Of course not, mother." _

Rapunzel continued walking through the streets. To be honest, she never saw why she had to do this, all she had to do was go to the shop to get some things. It was the most pathetic excuse for her to leave the tower ever… But truthfully Rapunzel was just happy to be allowed to go out, even if it was at night.

Sighing, she finally reached the bright glow of the shop, shinning like a beacon in the backstreets of Corona. When she entered, there weren't many people in the store. She greeted the shop keeper like always, and picked up a basket, making her way down the correct aisle.

After a while her basket was already half-full. Rapunzel stopped and thought for a moment, then suddenly dashed down a few aisles across, realizing what she was missing. Her mother's alcohol. This was the one thing on her list that Rapunzel hated. Week after week of buying the exact same items, she would return to her tower where her mother was waiting for her. Rapunzel sometimes wondered whether it was her she was waiting for, or just the alcohol that she brought with her. Whenever Mother Gothel got her hands on the alcohol, it sent shivers down Rapunzel's spine. There was no doubt, it was the _**worst**_ day of _**every**_ week.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Rapunzel reached up to grab a bottle of her mother's favourite. Just as her fingers reached around the neck, her gaze fell upon a man to her right. She stopped mid-action, studying him. He was taller than her, that much was obvious. However, all she could she was his brown hair, as his back was to her. She turned back to the task at hand, carefully removing the bottle from the shelf and placing it into her basket. A small action caused Rapunzel to look up at the man again as he gingerly placed a bottle into his satchel.

Rapunzel knew what he was trying to do. She raised her eye brow, eyeing him. She knew she shouldn't talk to anyone, her mother had warned her countless times not to. After thinking for a second, Rapunzel cleared her throat, still staring the man in front of her.

"Excuse me, but shouldn't you be paying for that first?"

The man jolted upright as he slowly turned to view the person who'd caught him in the act.

**A/N So, this is my first multi-chaptered story, and possibly my last. I started to write one when I first signed up to FF, but I ended up deleting it for certain reasons. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first Official Multi chaptered story. I hope you review, it really helps and inspires me. **

**Sorry for the terrible cliffhanger, since to be honest, it's not a cliff hanger at all! :L**

**I promise that the next chapter will be a lot longer; I just wanted to kind of test it out, if you know what I mean. ^^"**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N; Well here's chapter 2, Forgive me for the mistakes, and just how rubbish it is ^^" But most stories start out slow right? I promise it'll get more exciting soon; enjoy (:_

_I do not own anything._

**Always Be**

_**Chapter 2**_

_"Excuse me, but shouldn't you be paying for that first?"_

_The man jolted upright as he slowly turned to view the person who'd caught him in the act._

Rapunzel continued to stare at him, almost questioning him with her eyes. He stood, now facing her, as his eyes doubled in size, a look of shock on his face. Rapunzel said nothing and within seconds the man had pulled himself together. Rapunzel swallowed,

"Like I said, shouldn't you be paying for that?"

The brown haired man gave her the once over. But because of her hood, he couldn't see who he was supposed to be answering, although from the voice, it was clearly a woman. In a moment he straightened up and plastered a dashing smile on his face,

"Probably, but I won't."

"And why not?" Rapunzel replied, now looking down into her basket.

"Just because," the man replied. "Anyway, why don't you take that hood down, so I can see the face of the girl who caught me?" He flashed another smile in her direction.

Rapunzel shifted awkwardly, shaking her head. "Nope, sorry."

She wasn't about to reveal herself, not to mention her hair to a man she doesn't even know. Rapunzel didn't understand why she even had to hide her hair at all, it only glowed on certain 'occasions'. Besides, her hair… when tied up in a plait, shortened its true length _**a lot**_.

As she passed the man she spoke, "Make sure you pay for that, I'll be mentioning you to the shopkeeper."

The man groaned, rubbing his head. "Fine!" He replied as he watched her figure walk up to the counter. He had to admit, he was intrigued by this woman, even if he'd never took a glance upon her face. He gingerly walked towards the counter, listening in on the girl's conversation with the shopkeeper.

"How're you doing tonight, Rapunzel?" The shopkeeper smiled as she scanned her items, placing them into a plastic bag.

"Fine, thank you. And how about you, Mrs Morris?" Rapunzel replied.

She nodded, "Fine thank you, dear… Haven't I told you, call me Clarissa." She smiled to Rapunzel. In return, Rapunzel smiled back. She eyed Rapunzel as she picked up the last item, her mother's alcohol but put it in the bag anyway. Rapunzel then paid the money for her goods and took the change, placing it carefully in her purse.

"Here you go dear." Clarissa smiled as she handed Rapunzel her bag. "Have a nice night."

Rapunzel shuddered slightly as she took the bag from her hand, knowing fully well what the night would bring. However, she attempted to smile,

"I will, you too." Rapunzel's smile dropped as soon as she turned away. Before she left she turned back, "See you next week, Clarissa." Clarissa merely smiled at Rapunzel, waving to her as she left.

The walk home felt like a lot longer than usual. Rapunzel kept thinking about that man, about whether or not he'd actually paid Clarissa or just decided to steal it. Even though Rapunzel only got out on Wednesday night's for exactly this chore, she still knew some things about the outside world. For instance, she knew that that man was indeed somewhat attractive. Rapunzel wasn't blind.

Shaking her head to rid herself of all of her thoughts, she clutched the shopping bag to her chest tightly. All of a sudden a crash sounded behind her. Rapunzel instantly spun around staring at the alley behind her. Hearing no other noises, she slowly turned again and proceeded in the direction of her apartment.

But Rapunzel wasn't stupid, she knew very well that somebody was following her. Without a second thought, she carefully placed the shopping on the cold, stone floor, pretending to tie her shoelace. While she did this, she listened carefully around her.

Rapunzel could hear footsteps directly behind her. She waited for a few seconds more before turning around quickly as she smacked her follower directly in the face.

"Ow!"

Rapunzel squinted her eyes, after all it was difficult to see in the darkness. However, she soon realised that she knew this particular person… It was none other than the thief from the store. Rapunzel merely stared at him.

"Geez, did you have to hit me so hard? AND you hit my nose… this is _**really**_ bad!" The thief exclaimed while holding his face.

Rapunzel continued to stare at him. She was completely clueless as to what she should do in this situation. While she looked at him, she realised how he wasn't paying her much attention and was more concerned with his nose. Rapunzel saw this as the perfect time to try to make a getaway. She slowly picked up her bag and dashed forwards, only to be grabbed by the arm and swung back around.

"W-What do you want?" Rapunzel stuttered.

He let go of her, "Rapunzel, isn't it?"

Rapunzel nodded slowly. "How do you know my name?"

The man stepped back, smirking. "I overheard your conversation with the shopkeeper."

Rapunzel's mind suddenly went back to how she'd first ran into this man, remembering he was trying to steal from the sweet shopkeeper.

"And did you pay for your alcohol?"

The man chuckled, "Of course not."

"I knew I should've warned her."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Because…" To be honest, Rapunzel didn't really wish to tell him why. She didn't even know the man's name after all. She suddenly felt a rush of anger, "Anyway, I should be asking the questions! Why are you following me?"

The man merely shrugged. "You interested me. Since you were actually able to catch me thieving… Not many people can do that you know?" He leant forwards, winking at her.

Rapunzel stepped away from him. Unfortunately she had just stepped back on an uneven bit of path, tripping her over. She fell to the floor, her hood falling off of her head.

The man's gaze widened for a moment, as he took in the image of the girl he'd learnt was Rapunzel. Strands of her blonde hair cascaded down the sides of her face, her huge green eyes staring back at him. He was speechless.

After a few minutes of silence, he pulled himself together and held his hand out to her. Following a few moments of worried and confused looks, Rapunzel took his hand and he pulled her up. Rapunzel bent down to pick up her shopping, and then quickly moved away from the man. When she looked at him, he flashed a smile.

"Hey, the name's Flynn Rider."

All she could do was stare at him. Then she let out a laugh.

"And I suppose you think that makes everything okay?"

Now it was his turn to stare.

She continued, "You followed me from the store, there was no sensible reason for it! I _**interested**_ you? What does that even mean?"

"Woah, now Blondie… There'll be time for questions at another time. W-"

Rapunzel interrupted Flynn with a loud gasp. She panicked.

"Oh my god! What's the time?" She looked at him frantically.

Confused though he was, Flynn shrugged… "Around 11:00, why?"

"Crap! I'm running late! Mother will be expecting me."

"Hey, wait! I'm sure she'll be fine." Flynn tried to calm her.

Rapunzel's panic only increased, "No, you d-don't understand! I can't be late, I _**mustn't **_be late!"

Flynn stared at the blonde girl, his eye brow raised. Rapunzel looked at him for a moment.

"Well, even under these particular circumstances… Nice meeting you I guess, Flynn Rider."

Rapunzel threw her hood back over her head, and clutched her shopping bag to her chest before disappearing into the darkness of the backstreets of Corona. Flynn continued to stare after the girl, still shocked, still absolutely confused.

Rapunzel carried on running through the alleys until she reached the outskirts of the city. She stopped suddenly, as she took in the appearance horrible, dark building. She _**really**_ hated it.

Running up to the door, she hastily unlocked it, juggling the shopping bag with her keys and the door handle. She pushed the door open, slamming it behind her. Her breath was uneven as her eyes focused on the dark figure standing in front of her.

"M-Mother... I -"

"Now, Flower… Why are you so late?"

Rapunzel didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't tell her mother that she'd actually spoken with someone, the only person she was supposed to was the shopkeeper. But Rapunzel also couldn't lie. Well, maybe a small lie would be okay?

She gulped, "The queue was quite long today mother."

"Was it really, Rapunzel?" She glared at Rapunzel with her black eyes.

"Y-Yes mother," Rapunzel squeaked.

Rapunzel slowly walked into the kitchen and placed the bag onto the counter, well aware that Mother Gothel was watching every move she made. The room filled with silence as Rapunzel put everything away, making sure to leave her mother's 'special item' until last. As soon as it was removed from the bag Mother Gothel took it from the counter and left the kitchen, leaving Rapunzel alone.

Rapunzel walked into her bedroom slowly sliding off the hoody she was wearing. She hung it up on the back of her chair before sitting down and opening her sketch book. _**This**_ is Rapunzel. _**This**_ was her freedom. _**Art**_. Such a simple thing, yet it was everything to her. Well that and Pascal, Rapunzel couldn't imagine life without him.

As if on cue, a chameleon popped his head out from behind some books that were scattered on the desk.

Rapunzel chuckled lightly, "Hey Pascal, how're you doing?"

The chameleon looked up at and squeaked. Rapunzel nodded and smiled in reply.

"That's good."

Picking up a pencil, Rapunzel sketched out onto the slightly raised surface of the sketchbook. Making thicker and thinner lines occasionally, sometimes shading where needed and erasing whenever she made a mistake.

Halfway through her sketches, she was interrupted by a bellowing from the other room.

"RAPUNZEL?"

The shout startled Rapunzel, she sighed putting her pencil down. She looked at Pascal who looked back at her with sad eyes, even he knew what came next… Rapunzel slowly stood, walking out of her room and towards her mother.

* * *

A/N 2; Well I hope you enjoyed it, Review? (: I'll be glad to hear any of your thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Always Be**

_**Chapter 3**_

Flynn Rider wasn't just an average man. He, himself knew that. He knew that he could get any woman in the palm of his hand with one small, yet dashing smile, maybe a few touches to their skin here and there. That's why he was intrigued by this girl: _**Rapunzel**_. Granted he wasn't actually going to try anything with her so soon, after all, she'd just caught him in the act of thievery and that didn't sit well with Flynn. He was usually so flawless; nobody ever caught him… _**ever**_. So, how the heck did she?

He brooded over it as he walked into the open streets of Corona, crossing the square quickly to get to the pathway on the opposite side. He made his way down the path, walking towards the forest which sat on the outskirts of Corona, then made a sharp left turn. He looked up at the isolated bar, reading the sign, 'The Snuggly Duckling', now this is where he'd always end up. _'Time to find myself a good time'_, he thought to himself as he smirked.

Walking through the threshold, he let his eyes dart around the bar, looking each woman up and down. He sighed; none were to his particular liking tonight. Instead of walking towards a woman, he walked straight ahead to get a beer at the bar before turning around and heading for his usual table in the corner of the bar.

"Hey, Rider!"

Flynn looked up to be greeted by a large, bald man sporting a hook for his left hand. He gulped down another bit of beer before answering the man.

"Hey hook, what's up?"

"Not much." He replied, taking a seat from across Flynn. He continued, "Anyway, wanna know something I heard from one of my sources?"

Flynn raised his eyebrow, "Depends what it's about…"

Hook leant slowly over the table, whispering to Flynn, "It's concerning _**that**_, and it's going to commence in the early hours tomorrow." was all Hook said.

Still staring at Hook, Flynn's ears perked up with interest, "What? You mean…" His voice trailed off.

Hook merely nodded slowly.

Flynn leant back in his chair. This was some interesting news, he had hoped to hear about it sooner than this, but now was as good a time as any. The only bad thing about this was knowing who he would be working with… Flynn knew of Hook's sources. Flynn _was_ a thief after all, the most sought after thief in the whole city. He placed his fingers to his forehead, rubbing it slowly, finally he gave up thinking and looked up to Hook again.

He nodded, "Okay Hook, get me your sources. Get me the Stabington Brothers."

Hook gasped for a moment, "What? How did you know it was them?"

Flynn chuckled, "Because I _**am**_ Flynn Rider."

Hook sighed in defeat, retreating into the back of the bar. Another 10 minutes passed before the doors to the bar opening and in stepped to large men. The Stabington Brothers.

* * *

Rapunzel pulled her knees tight to her chest as she sobbed. She jumped as she heard things go flying around the room. Her mother had smashed and thrown multiple things already, including her. Just before Rapunzel ran into the living room she was in the kitchen facing her mother. Mother Gothel had glared at Rapunzel before grabbing her hair at the roots and throwing Rapunzel across the room causing her to smash into the cupboards. Now Mother Gothel was back in the same room again, there's never any certainty to how far she'll go to hurt Rapunzel.

It happened like this _**every**_ single Wednesday, this is why she hated this day every week. Mother Gothel only hurt her occasionally when she was sober, but after she finished off her bottle of her favourite alcohol every Wednesday, this is what happened. Sometimes Rapunzel didn't know if she'd be able to make it through the night. It was only when her mother left in the morning on the next day that Rapunzel was allowed to heal her injuries with her "gift", her magic hair.

"Rapunzeeeel! Where are you my dear flower?" Gothel slurred.

Rapunzel's breathing hitched as she tried to hold back her sobs, but they wouldn't stop, causing Gothel to find her hiding in the corner, behind the sofa.

She looked up at her mother, "Please mother, don't…" she pleaded.

Gothel stomped over to Rapunzel, again grabbing her by the roots of her long, blonde hair, pulling her up to stand. Rapunzel looked at her mother with pleading and desperate eyes, begging her to stop. Tears continued to fall down her already tear stained cheeks, as the tears fell it stung her face. Even if Rapunzel couldn't see her face, she knew she already had gashes over it, and bruises where her mother slapped her so hard. Although Rapunzel could defend herself when she went out through the backstreets of Corona, she was not able to defend herself against her mother. It was that simple. Something stopped her, it could've been her mind, or it could've easily have been her muscles just wouldn't move even if she commanded it so.

With one last attempt to plead to her mother, she tried to struggle free of Gothel's grip. But this attempt, like so many before, was completely useless. Giving up, Rapunzel's world suddenly went black.

* * *

Morning broke through the few windows of the tower, causing Rapunzel's eyes to slowly flutter open, but as she opened her eyes, she groaned in pain. The pain that shot through her muscles let her brain remember the events of last night. The painful memories played like an old movie through her mind. She heard a squeak and slowly turned her head to see Pascal staring at her with his big, worried eyes.

"Pascal… are you… okay?" She said through a hoarse voice.

The chameleon nodded, inching closer to Rapunzel. "That's good."

Pascal crawled onto her shoulder, gently placing his head on her neck, making quiet squeaks as if he was crying. Rapunzel slowly pushed herself up, getting onto her knees before standing fully up. She stumbled slightly, feeling light headed, but quickly steadied herself and perched on the end of the sofa. After a few minutes of silence she gathered her strength to stand up, walking to her bedroom, with Pascal still on her shoulder.

When she reached her room, she headed straight for the mirror. Rapunzel's eyes focused on her reflection before gasping. She noted that she has multiple bruises on her face, as well as various sized gashes. Her face and hair was covered in her dried blood from the cuts. She looked down at her arms, seeing the bruises from where her mother had grabbed her too tightly and then her legs and feet were covered in dried blood and a few bruised from being thrown around. "It gets worse every week, Pascal." She placed her hands to her face, sobbing lightly.

Pascal squeaked at Rapunzel. Rapunzel wiped her eyes, "No, Pascal I can't. I've tried to leave before, but each time she finds me… there's nothing I can do."

* * *

_A/N; Thank you to the people who reviewed :D __**Music2MyEars, Tangledgirl, susan friedman + Umbre0n.**__ (: _

_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, I didn't know how much detail I should go into regarding Rapunzel's situation… I hope I didn't do too much, or disappoint you with too little. ^^" _

_Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out this week sometime; and please continue to review, they always mean a lot, and help. If you have any tips or ideas don't hesitate to say. Or I'd love to know if you'd want longer chapters than this? (: _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N; Ideas are literally flooding out, so that explains my quick update. Enjoy (:_

_Disney owns tangled._

* * *

**Always Be**

_**Chapter 4**_

Flynn got up extremely early that morning, not that he slept much anyway. Being a thief, you always expect other thieves to literally stab you in the back as you sleep. But Flynn was sure that the Stabington Brothers wouldn't do that, there was a reason he was here. They _**needed**_ him. They needed his brain, his wit and his cunning. Even if they were notorious criminals, they didn't have the brains you'd expect them to. They had pretty much left after their conversation at the snuggly duckling. They had walked partway into the forest, before they decided to rest until morning.

Getting up, Flynn noticed that the two brothers were already up, waiting for him.

"It's about time, Rider." The brother with the eye-patch said.

Flynn stared at them, "Well, you should've woken me up then, shouldn't you?"

The other brother, with the sideburns, took a lunge at him. Eye-patch grabbed his brother, shaking his head, "Don't forget, we need him."

After the situation had calmed down, Flynn walked towards the brothers, "Now then, shall we go?"

The brothers nodded. After they had walked for around another hour, Flynn turned to them and asked, "So, where exactly is it?"

"Hidden." Sideburns stated.

"Well that certainly helps!" Flynn replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"Shut up and keep up, Rider!" Sideburns answered.

Flynn continued to follow the brothers. All he needed was for them to let slip of the location and then he could ditch them and go after the prize himself. Eternally young, eh? It sounded great, Flynn loved the thought of him being this handsome and dashing for as long as he wished it, and all he needed was to find this magic hidden deep within Corona's forests. He wondered what could possibly hold such magic. As a thief it excited him, but as himself… It _**intrigued **_him. The influence of being a thief overpowered the part of him that was still the man he used to be.

Hearing whispers, Flynn flicked his head up, silently listening to what they were talking about.

"You remember the plan?" Eye-patch asked his brother.

Sideburns nodded. "Yeah, when we get to the other side of the forest, we break into that tower and steal the magic for ourselves… Then get rid of Rider." He smirked at his brother.

Flynn gulped, and then realised what he had actually just heard. He smirked, _'Bingo!'_ He thought. Flynn saw that the two brothers were too busy and involved in their conversation to be taking much notice of him. He used this to his advantage. Surveying his surroundings, he saw a perfect hiding place, a bunch of rocks with a small hole in between. It was big enough for him, but he knew it was way too small for the brothers.

Flynn silently took off to the right and ran towards the rocks, sliding in between them. When he was sure he was completely out of sight, he focused on making his breathing even again. He stayed there for a further few minutes before hearing a shout from the way he had come,

"RIDER!" One of the brothers yelled.

Flynn smirked to himself. As he heard the noise of the brothers running his way, he held his breath, listening to them.

"I hate that Rider! Where the hell did he go?"

"He must've ran in the other direction. Let's go!"

Flynn stayed completely still until all he could hear was silence. He gingerly squeezed out from the gap between the rocks and continued walking towards the edge of the forests, looking very pleased with himself.

After a while Flynn came right to the edge of the forest, he was stumped. His eyes scanned around, nothing. The brother's had lied to him!

"Damn those bastards!" Flynn cursed as he swung at what he thought was just a huge rock. He was angry; he needed to punch something, so why the hell did these vines move? He cursed again, opening the curtain of vines, before realising that it was a hidden pathway that obviously lead to some secret place. Flynn smirked as he walked along the hidden path before coming face to face with a tower. Flynn was obviously confused, it looked abandoned. It looked dreary and damp, the building overall was dark and falling apart. It just looked depressing. _'No one really lives here, do they?'_ He thought. After realizing what he was standing in front of, he looked even more pleased with himself, "Finders keeper's boys." He said to himself more than anyone.

* * *

Rapunzel continued to look at herself in the mirror, it absolutely disgusted her. After all this time, she'd come to the conclusion that she must just be a bad and horrid person. Why else would her own mother treat her this way? After a while she stopped judging her reflection and walked back over to her desk that she had left so suddenly last night. She gently lifted her slim fingers and felt the bumpy page beneath her fingers, slowly tracing her pencil lines from the night before. She sighed heavily.

Pascal squeaked at her again from her shoulder, Rapunzel looked down at the chameleon reassuring him that she was okay, although she still ached, and her cuts still stung on her face. Like always, Rapunzel grabbed her hair products, placing her hair into the usual plait so it wouldn't get in the way as she cleaned. Before she healed and washed herself, she always made sure she cleaned the tower first. The reason? If she didn't, Mother Gothel would just be angry again when she returned. Rapunzel didn't even want to think about that possibility.

After her hair was put into a plait, she placed Pascal onto the desk. Next, she changed her clothes into a different dress. After slipping into a new, clean dress, she walked into the kitchen to start her cleaning. It looked a mess. There were pots and pans scattered everywhere, Rapunzel noticed that there was even some of her own blood smeared on one of the cupboards. Even though Rapunzel had seen the state of her face she was still incredibly shocked at the sight.

In the middle of her cleaning she heard a noise from her bedroom, and then Pascal squeaking to her in a panic. This made Rapunzel panic, so she grabbed the thing closest to her: a frying pan. She gradually made her way to hide behind a bookcase in the living room that was placed conveniently enough for her to stay out of sight.

She watched her bedroom door as a man walked out scanning the living room. She watched him walk around the room. The moment his back was turned, she came out of her hiding place and smacked him around the head with the frying pan. Without a word, the man fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Without thinking whether he'd get up, Rapunzel hurried into her room, going straight to her desk, "Pascal?"

At the sound of her voice, the chameleon popped his head from around the back of the books that still lay scattered on her desk. Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief, picking him up and placing him on her shoulder. Then she remembered the man on her living room floor, she reached for her cloak that lay discarded on her bed and threw it on, apologizing to Pascal in the process. She grabbed the flying pan again and ran back into the living room.

Within a few seconds she was standing over her intruder. Using the handle of the frying pan she flicked the hair that covered his face back revealing somebody she knew.

"Flynn!" she gasped as she jumped back.

Rapunzel stared at him, wondering why the hell he was in her tower. Pascal jumped off her shoulder onto the arm of the sofa squeaking at Rapunzel. She nodded to him in response, "Yes Pascal, we've met. I met him yesterday at the store, we talked briefly."

Pascal stuck out his tongue, showing his dislike to the person he knew had made Rapunzel late last night. Rapunzel only shook her head at Pascal. "It wasn't his fault, really." Pascal still looked at the man, showing his obvious dislike.

With her injuries, Rapunzel could only just manage to push him up onto the sofa so he was lying down. As she struggled with this, she put too much strain on her leg, which soon after putting him on the sofa caused her to collapse onto her knees in pain. After a moment, she stood up slowly and limped into kitchen, putting down the frying pan and grabbing some ice from the freezer and placing it in a plastic bag before wrapping it in a towel. For some reason her mother had never gotten them a normal ice pack, so this would have to do. Before placing it on Flynn's head, she reached over hers pulling her hood up, so she could hide her damaged face from him.

Rapunzel slowly lowered herself to her knees, ignoring the nagging pain and placed the ice filled towel to Flynn's head, hoping it would help. After a while, she placed her head on the side of the sofa, falling asleep with her hand which held the towel still on his head.

* * *

As he drifted back into consciousness, Flynn couldn't work out why his head hurt so much. What the hell happened? Then he remembered a hard, metal object hitting him on the back of his head. For a while the pain really hurt, and then out of nowhere his head suddenly felt cold. As well as this, it was also helping the pain a lot.

Following the decreasing pain, his eyes flung open as they darted around the room. He realised that somebody has been holding something cold against his head, his eyes followed the arm and the owner was soon revealed. He couldn't quite see the face as it was turned away from him, but he knew the cloak, and the few strands of shimmering blonde hair that stuck out of it. It was her.

"Rapunzel?"

Suddenly Rapunzel's eyes flung open, like Flynn's did only moments before as she gasped, pushing herself to her feet quickly ignoring the pain that came with it. Flynn took the towel from his head before sitting upright to be able to face Rapunzel.

"Woah, Blondie! It's just me." Flynn said, raising his hands.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, "Sorry Flynn, you scared me." She continued to back away from him.

"Anyway, why are you here?" He paused. "Do you live here?" he asked, the confusion becoming evident in his voice.

Rapunzel looked at him and nodded. Pascal watched the scene then scurried over to Rapunzel's feet, tapping them while squeaking at her, causing Flynn to look down.

"And what is that?" He asked pointing at the green animal.

Pascal glared at Flynn as he stuck his tongue out. Rapunzel slowly bent down to pick him up and place him on her shoulder. "He's a chameleon, his name's Pascal."

Flynn just stared at the animal before muttering under his breath, "looks more like a freaking frog to me."

Rapunzel stood up quickly, only to wince at the pain her injuries gave her. Hearing this, Pascal looked at his friend with worried eyes. Rapunzel looked down at Pascal and whispered, "I'm fine Pascal; I told you I'm okay. It doesn't hurt anymore."

It seemed Rapunzel didn't whisper quietly enough as Flynn heard every word she said to her 'frog'. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she suddenly reached for the towel, "Have you finished with that now?"

Flynn picked up the towel and passed it over to her, "Oh yeah, thanks."

Rapunzel held the towel in her hands, "You're welcome… Uh Flynn? Sorry for hitting you. I didn't know who came in."

Flynn held up his hands again, "It's fine. No permanent damage, I think I'll live." He paused again. "Anyway Blondie, why have you got your hood up in here, or your cloak on for that matter?"

Rapunzel's breath hitched before answering, "Er, no reason. I just felt like it."

Flynn didn't answer, instead he watched her closely as she put pascal on the arm of the sofa before limping into the kitchen to dispose of the towel she was using on Flynn's head. Flynn wasn't stupid, he knew something was going on and he was definitely going to find out what. As Rapunzel re-entered the living room she was grabbed on the arm by Flynn so he could face her properly. She winced in pain as he held her bruised forearm in his hand. Realising he was hurting her, he dropped his hand from her arm, still looking at her. They were only a few inches apart.

"Blondie, seriously… I know something's wrong. Tell me."

Rapunzel shook her head, "No. I don't even know you that well Flynn. Just forget about me."

"No, Blondie listen to me, I might be able to help."

For a second Flynn was taken aback by his statement. Since when did he, the great Flynn Rider, help anybody but himself? He wasn't even sure why he was so kind and patient with this girl, she wasn't anything special after all. She was _**just **_a girl.

A single tear escaped from her eyes, falling to the floor. Flynn didn't know what to do, he hated girls crying, it was something he had never dealt with in the past. So he just stared at her.

"No you can't." Rapunzel stated.

As the moment was calm, Flynn took the opportunity to lift his arms to her head and drop the hood from her head. He stared in shock. He studied her face, there were many different sized gashes over her cheeks, as well as bruising. His eyes darted to her hair, splotches of dried blood could be seen covering the majority of it. His eyes then narrowed at her cloak that she was clutching, covering her arms.

"Blondie, take off your cloak. I want to see your arms."

Rapunzel couldn't do anything but obey him now, he'd already seen her messed up face. She slowly reached up to unhook her cloak, letting it fall to the floor. Flynn reached down taking her hands and looked at her arms, his eyes widening again as he saw the amount of bruising and dried blood that covered them.

Even Flynn Rider couldn't ignore this. The girl he didn't care for anyway, he was only intrigued by her at the shop, nothing more than that. But even he could say that whatever had happened to her was completely fucked up. Who could've done such a thing?

"Blondie, who the fuck did this to you?" He stared at her.

"RAPUNZEELLL! Flower, I'm home!" Mother Gothel yelled from outside the apartment.

"Crap!" Rapunzel panicked, her eyes darting around the room. "Quick Flynn! Come with me, I need to hide you." She said as she picked up Pascal in her hands.

"Why?" Flynn asked confused.

"Please?" Rapunzel begged. "Just do it, Pascal you stay with him."

Pascal nodded in reply, as she gave him to Flynn and pushed him into her wardrobe before rushing to the door to unlock it, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg. After unlocking the door, Rapunzel pulled it open to see her mother standing there.

* * *

_A/N ; Thank you to the people who reviewed my last chapter, I hope you don't mind reading about Rapunzel's situation, at points it'll probably be bad, maybe more than the previous chapter. _

_I also changed it to 'Mature' for the language._

_Please review, they always help :D _


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N; This is mainly to the people who were already reading this story before … The time setting has changed, it's no longer present day. In the other chapters, I simply changed the apartment to a tower and a few other thing, nothing that changes the story in any way. Hope you're not too confused by this, sorry!_

_Disney Owns Tangled._

* * *

_**Always Be**_

_Chapter 5_

"Hello mother." Rapunzel said.

Gothel said nothing to Rapunzel, as she pushed passed her and entered the living room. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the tower, all the mess still there from the previous night. She turned to Rapunzel,

"Flower, why is_** my**_ tower not clean?" She asked Rapunzel using her high pitched sing-song voice.

Rapunzel took a step back away from her mother, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry mother, I'd only just started… I only got up within the last hour."

Gothel stared at Rapunzel, her eyes studying her. "And flower, why are you in that state? Who did that to you?"

This was the thing that Rapunzel couldn't bear. Even though her mother did this to her all the time, hurt her. Not just physically either, but emotionally too. Mother Gothel never acknowledged that she did this to her own daughter. For years Rapunzel thought it was because of the alcohol, that she couldn't remember because she had drunk too much. But recently, Rapunzel had come to suspect that she did know, and the fact that she knew what she was doing while she hit her too. So how was Rapunzel supposed to answer that? Each time she'd be cleaned and healed so her mother wouldn't see her cuts and bruises when she got home, Rapunzel had never faltered on that once. But today, because of unforeseen circumstances, what could Rapunzel say? That a man came into the tower? That she helped him? That she'd already met him? No, of course she couldn't…

"I fell down the stairs…" Rapunzel said still looking at the floor.

Mother Gothel stared knowingly at her, showing that she obviously knew why she was so cut and so bruised but she nodded saying, "Well why don't you clean the tower like you were supposed to? And then you can attend to those hideous marks on yourself."

Rapunzel only nodded in reply. Gothel then hung her cloak up and disappeared into her room, probably for the rest of the night. She never came out of that room, unless she was going out coming back. Rapunzel sighed heavily, ignoring the constant pain in her leg. After a few moments, Rapunzel picked up her cloak that was in a pile on the floor and hung it up before making her way into the kitchen to finish what she started.

She picked up the pots, the pans and anything else that had fallen down. A glass had smashed last night, so Rapunzel set about clearing that next.

Halfway through picking up the pieces, she felt another presence next to her. Rapunzel was confused for a moment, it couldn't have been mother, she never came out.

"Hey, Blondie?"

Rapunzel jumped a bit, of course… Flynn was here. But in the next second Rapunzel had jumped up, "What are you doing, Flynn?" She whispered.

Flynn was confused why she was whispering, but decided to copy her anyway, so he whispered, "The wardrobe was small. I didn't like it."

"Well you can't be here! If mother finds you she'll…" Rapunzel's whispers trailed off into silence.

"C'mon Blondie, I'll be quiet."

Rapunzel looked at the man and slowly nodded in agreement. Mother never came out anyway, as long as she stayed in there and as long as Flynn was quiet, it'd be fine right?

After agreeing, Rapunzel got back to finish clearing up the smashed glass on the floor. Next she moved onto the smeared blood on the cupboards. She was interrupted by Flynn,

"Blondie, is that your blood?" He asked pointing to the remaining splotches.

Rapunzel nodded, "Yes, now be quiet."

Flynn was speechless, so he nodded to her in response. Throughout her cleaning of the kitchen, Flynn just merely watched her. After she'd finished in the kitchen, she moved onto cleaning the living room. Finishing with the last bit, Rapunzel rushed back into the kitchen pulling down some pots to cook some food. He watched Rapunzel as she chopped, diced, boiled, drained and whatever else she was doing, until she'd made a rather nice looking meal.

Rapunzel put it on a tray, and walked towards her mother's room. Before getting to the door she turned to Flynn, and whispered "Go to my room, I'll be there in a moment."

Flynn nodded walking back to her room, that could've been his chance to leave. But he wanted to hear Rapunzel's story. As much as he, Flynn Rider, hated to admit it… he wanted to know about this girl.

* * *

Rapunzel walked into her mother's room and placed the tray on the small table on the furthest wall in her room and turned to leave. However before she could get out she heard her mother call her from the other room that was attached to her mother's bedroom. Rapunzel always wondered what was behind that curtain, but she never asked. She really wanted to know, but her mother would probably be angry with her again. It just wasn't worth it.

"Flower!" Her mother said as she appeared from behind the curtain, "Mother's feeling tired, would you sing to me?"

However much Rapunzel didn't want to, she nodded, "Of course mother," before taking a brush from another small table and sitting on the edge of her mother's bed. Gothel sat next to her and waited for Rapunzel to remove her hair from the plait that it was currently in. After Rapunzel had released all of her lengthy blonde hair, Gothel took the brush from Rapunzel's lap and began to brush.

Rapunzel closed her eyes and began to sing the incantation, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine… What once was mine."

As Rapunzel sang the incantation, her hair glowed brightly and beautifully. The whole room lit up, making the tower seem as though it was simply home. The warm feeling that her hair let off had always kept Rapunzel calm. She had always wondered what she'd do without this gift, she'd have Pascal, but he couldn't heal her every night, he just simply couldn't do it. As her mother continued brushing through her hair, Rapunzel wondered what her life would be like if she had no magic hair, simple, she wouldn't have one, she could've died if she hadn't had her hair to heal her every week.

"Flower, Mother's going to go to bed now. I have to go to the neighbouring Kingdom tomorrow, so I'll be gone for a few days. Will you be able to cope?"

Rapunzel could tell from her tone that she was attempting to challenge her, to see if she'd really leave her. Rapunzel looked up at Gothel and nodded, "I'll be fine, Mother."

"Good." Was all Gothel said before dismissing her daughter.

* * *

Rapunzel slowly walked across the middle of the tower, and walked up into her room. When she entered she noticed Flynn laying on her bed, looking up at the ceiling with Pascal on his head. For some reason this made her smile. Rapunzel had completely forgotten to tie her hair back up, so it eventually finished entering a good minute or so after she did. She only realised her mistake when a very confused Flynn stared at the floor, directly to where her hair would be.

Speechless, Flynn's eyes flicked up to look at Rapunzel before pointing at the ground with his mouth hanging open.

Rapunzel put up her hands, "Don't freak out! Please?"

Flynn gathered himself before sitting up and flinging his legs round so he could push himself off of the bed. "Blondie… that's a hell of a lot of hair! Why'd you have _**that**_ much?"

Rapunzel walked towards him, lifting her arms up to let Pascal walk into her hands. She held him close as she replied, "Er… I wanted to grow it out. And since I don't leave the tower that much, I thought it'd be perfect conditions to."

Flynn gave her a questioning look, not at all believing the petite girl who stood in front of him. Instead of questioning her he shrugged his shoulder, "I guess so – wait, **_what?_** How often_** do**_ you leave this tower?"

Rapunzel didn't even look up at him as she spoke, "Every Wednesday night."

"That's it?" Flynn was completely gob smacked. How could somebody only go outside once a week, and only for a few hours? Flynn thought to himself for a moment while carefully watching Rapunzel move around her bedroom, tidying her things. Realising that he wasn't going to come to a conclusion any time soon, he shook his head and dismissed his thoughts on the matter.

When he next looked up, he realised that Rapunzel's "frog" was staring at him, gesturing for him to do something. Flynn honestly had no idea what he was trying to tell him so he just stared back. Soon Pascal gave up shaking his head at Flynn and rolling his eyes. Flynn just continued to stared at him confused.

After picking up a few books and putting them back onto her bookshelf, Rapunzel turned to Flynn, "Flynn, are you thinking of staying the night?"

Flynn looked back at Rapunzel before slowly nodding, "If that's okay, I mean, it's late now so I'll leave in the morning or something."

For a second, Flynn noticed that Rapunzel looked panicked and he was just about to say he'd leave then and there before he saw that she calmed down.

"I guess it'd be okay…" Rapunzel stared at him hard, "but you must promise me you'll stay hidden."

Flynn sighed and nodded. "Of course Blondie."

Honestly, Flynn didn't want to hide away again. He knew he'd just be hidden in a small, cramped place again. And quite frankly, it didn't appeal to him. At all. But he didn't want Rapunzel to panic over something so small.

"You can sleep up there." Rapunzel said plainly, pointing to a small hatch on her ceiling.

Flynn followed her finger and saw the same hatch. Sighing again, he looked back at Rapunzel and nodded his agreement. And as soon as he nodded, Rapunzel jumped and grabbed the small string that she had attached to the hatch so it could be opened easily. After she had opened it she climbed the steps, Flynn following her.

Upon entering she bent down and grabbed the candle that was near to the opening and lit it with the matches that she kept by the side of it. When Flynn came up, she handed him the candle,

"Here, you'll probably need this."

Flynn took the candle from her bruised hands. "Thanks."

Rapunzel nodded, "Good night Flynn," she said as she descended the steps, closing them after her.

Flynn looked around before sitting down and leaning against one of the walls. He set the candle down next to him as his head went through the events of the day. His head still hurt a bit from being hit by the frying pan, but he had ignored the pain all day. Now he was thinking about everything, he had so many questions, none of which were answered. After pondering it for a moment, Flynn shook his head, clearing all the thoughts of Rapunzel from his mind. She was **_just_** a girl. She wasn't important to him _**at all**_. He had to put his thoughts on more important things, like getting out in the morning and continuing his search for this secret magic. Instead of himself clearing his thoughts, he was interrupted this time by the soft sound of a voice from below him. Flynn gingerly moved towards the hatch, opening it just enough to see out of it, what he saw made his eyes widen in complete shock.

* * *

_A/N 2: Thank you again to my reviewers. Please continue to review, they really do help a lot. (:_


	6. Chapter 6

Disney Owns Tangled.

* * *

_**Always Be**_

_Chapter 6_

As Rapunzel left, she carefully descended the stairs, making sure that the hatch was firmly shut before she sat on her bed, Pascal sitting next to her. Rapunzel sat in silence for a moment, thinking things through. She had a person, a man and a thief above her, and her mother had no idea. What the hell was she supposed to do? To be honest, deep down Rapunzel felt a small rush of excitement; she was basically harbouring a fugitive. The thought just gave her thrills, much beyond anything she'd felt for quite a while. Pascal nudged the side of her leg gently, pulling Rapunzel from her thoughts. She blinked, looking down and noticed the prominent bruising that still covered her forearms. Taking a deep breath, she glanced up at the hatch. After checking that she really had shut it behind her she took another deep breath and opened her mouth to sing that familiar incantation:

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

* * *

Flynn watched as Rapunzel's hair glowed brightly, lighting up the room and his mouth fell open in shock. Was he going crazy? This couldn't be happening right now, it just wasn't possible… right? Flynn battled his own self. He was torn. Should he make a noise, startle her and ask her what the hell was up with her hair? Or should he just retreat back into the darkness, leaving her alone? For a while, Flynn's eyes glanced all over the room before he eventually and grudgingly decided that he'd leave Rapunzel alone. Although he had so many questions about what he'd just seen, his 'other side' pulled him away from the hatch and back into the room, where he lay for a while before falling into sleep.

* * *

Hearing a small slam from above, Rapunzel flicked her head up and stared at the hatch, but seeing nothing. Rapunzel shrugged lightly before looking back to her wounds, she watched them disappear before her eyes. She remembered the first time she'd witnessed it, she was absolutely amazed. She had asked her mother all kinds of questions about it, but only got the same one sentence reply to every single question: _'The sun has blessed us.'_

Day after day Rapunzel tried to work out what her mother had meant, even today she still wondered. It sounded like complete nonsense to her, but then again somebody's hair glowing was pretty crazy right? Rapunzel watched as her hair became dim and finally go out, leaving darkness surrounding her. She turned around, reaching for her duvet, as Pascal curled up on her pillow. Rapunzel climbed into her bed, placing her head near to Pascal's small form and let sleep take her, it had been a long day after all.

* * *

Rapunzel awoke to sun beams trying to shine through the small gaps in her curtains, lighting up parts of the room. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a small yawn, wanting more sleep. She could feel Pascal nudging the back of her head gently to help her to wake up, she slowly turned her head to face her small friend and smiled.

"Good Morning Pascal."

The chameleon squeaked in reply as Rapunzel slowly got out of bed. As she walked across her room, she caught the reflection of herself in the mirror, remembering that she had healed herself the night before. A small smile graced her lips, until she remembered the man sleeping above her. She turned to Pascal who was still on her bed,

"Pascal I have to make sure Flynn doesn't see too much, I have to make sure he doesn't question why I no longer have my bruises and cuts." Pascal nodded to his friend in agreement.

Rapunzel continued, "But first I need to take a shower, I still have dried blood on my hair after all."

After Rapunzel had showered, she changed her clothes and walked over to her bedroom door, however something caught her eye. There was a piece of paper in the centre of her desk. Rapunzel wondered what it was; she didn't remember that being their yesterday nor did she remember leaving it there. She walked over the desk, and opened it. She glanced at the handwriting; it was quite scruffy, not from her mother. Then something clicked. It was obviously Flynn's handwriting.

_Blondie, _

_I left as soon as I woke up. I made sure your mother had left before me, so don't panic. She didn't see anything and she doesn't know I was there at all. Sorry I left so suddenly, I didn't want to wake you. Thanks for everything, even if it was __**you **__who hit me on the head in the first place. _

As she read that line, Rapunzel could easily imagine what his tone would be, and what sort of face he'd be pulling. She shook her head and continued reading.

_Maybe I'll see you again, when you're out on a Wednesday. _

_I'll leave you with a small piece of advice: Leave your mother. She treats you like shit. No one should put their own child through that. Even __**somebody like me**__ knows it's messed up._

_Flynn._

Rapunzel took a deep breath. Was he serious? What sort of person leaves so suddenly, and gives her advice like that? Rapunzel knew her mother didn't treat her well, but she was her mother. She loved her mother, no matter what. She didn't mean to do all of the things she did to Rapunzel, did she? Of course she didn't, right? She turned to Pascal,

"How dare he say that about mother! It's just not true, right Pascal? You believe me don't you?" Rapunzel stared at her green friend.

Pascal squeaked quietly, disagreeing with her.

"What?" Rapunzel asked, shocked. "You're on Flynn's side over mine?" A few tears welled up in her eyes.

Pascal squeaked, his sadness obvious and apologizing to Rapunzel.

Rapunzel sat on the side of her bed, holding Flynn's letting tightly in her hands. "It's okay, Pascal. We'll just have to see, won't we?"

* * *

Flynn walked gingerly through the forests, back towards the snuggly duckling. It would take all day and part of tomorrow to get there, but he liked being on his own. He learned a long time ago that you can't rely on people. Flynn doesn't usually put his trust in anyone, however, there was only one person that Flynn could put his trust in, he was the only person that knew everything about Flynn. He had his reasons for that. As he walked, he checked his surroundings constantly, being very wary of a certain pair of brothers who were probably looking for him right now. Flynn wasn't sure that the Snuggly Duckling would make him safe, but he was hungry. As long as he was quick and he checked the bar out beforehand, he shouldn't run into them.

He had already been walking for half the day, he left Rapunzel's tower at first light after waiting for her mother to leave. He was grateful that she leaves that early in the morning. Or he would've had to give Rapunzel an awkward goodbye. He hated goodbyes. He really wished he could've stayed and waited for her to wake up, he had a mountain of questions to ask her about what he had seen. But like the night before, his 'other side' made him leave without a sound. While he walked all his mind went back to was _**that **_girl. Rapunzel. Why was she constantly on his mind? He didn't care for her, he only felt a bit of sympathy for what she has to put up with. He felt bad for her. But that was all. Flynn might've been a thief and have no morals whatsoever but even he wasn't that heartless. That must've been it. He _**just**_ felt sympathy for her. _**That was all. **_

As the sun went down, Flynn found somewhere to sleep. Unlike usual, he had to find somewhere hidden, just in case. He slept in the middle of some bushes. Although he was incredibly uncomfortable, he wasn't about to chance being found by the Stabbington Brothers. That wouldn't be good.

* * *

As the sun rose, Flynn opened his eyes. He glanced out, surveying his surroundings. After seeing nobody, he emerged from the bushes and straightened himself out before starting off again towards the Snuggly Duckling.

After a few more hours, Flynn looked up recognising the building in front of him. The Snuggly Duckling. Before entering, he peered through the small window, making sure those brothers weren't already in there. Thankfully there was no sign of them, which meant Flynn could finally eat something. He was used to going a day without food sometimes, he could easily find drink, and there were numerous lakes and rivers throughout the forests in Corona. They may not have been completely clean, but it was water. He needed it, even if it was just a little sip. He moved away from the window and entered, walking up to the bar.

"Rider! Haven't seen you for a few days." Hook said walking up to him. "Your usual?"

Flynn nodded.

Hook gave him a beer and walked into the back. After ten minutes he returned with a hot bowl of stew and put it in front of Flynn. "Here."

"Thanks." Flynn replied. It wasn't the best food by any means, but it would do. After all these years, it was used to it.

Hook leaned forwards, "So, did you find what you were looking for?"

Flynn gulped the last bit of the stew down and shook his head. "The brother's haven't been back here yet have they?"

Hook shook his head, "No, I haven't seen them. They don't come here often. Just when they're looking for you."

Flynn gulped again, "Yeah, that's what I mean…"

"You didn't run away from them?" He asked.

Flynn could only look at hook. "I thought I could have it to myself. But as it turns out…" Flynn's voice trailed off.

"They're really not gonna be happy this time. They'll be out to kill, you know that don't you boy?"

"Yeah." Was all Flynn could reply.

"So, you didn't find anything? Hook asked.

Flynn glanced down at the empty bowl. "Well… there _**was**_ something. Something that gave me a bruise on my head."

Hook raised his eyebrow in question, "What?"

"A girl."

Hook's mouth moved into an 'O' shape. "And where is this girl now?"

"Where I found her, at her home."

"You didn't!"

Flynn held up his hands quickly, "NO! Of course I didn't. I wouldn't… I couldn't."

Hook smirked, "So, she's _**different**_?"

"Shut up." Flynn answered as he leant on the palm of his hand.

Hook chuckled, knowing full well what Flynn was thinking. Although he was very confused as to why Flynn wasn't well… Flynn around her. Usually he would've stolen anything of value, probably would've shown the girl a good time before leaving. But Hook was quite happy to know that whoever this girl was, Flynn showed his 'other side' to her. Maybe she could help him get out of this way of life.

Hook had been watching over Flynn since he escaped from the orphanage at the age of 16. Flynn turned up starving and thirsty at the bar one night. Hook had taken pity on the lad and gave him a place to stay. Soon, they became good friends and Flynn looked up at him like a big brother. But as the years went by, Hook noticed that 'that side' of Flynn was slowly dying away, being taken over by the thief that he was today. Hook didn't question him, he decided he'd be there if he ever needed him.

Flynn knew that, he shared his one secret with Hook at the age of 18, two years after they met. He was the only one who knew about his past, and that's how it was going to stay. Hook was that one person Flynn put his trust in.

Hook walked off serving other customers as Flynn thought for a moment. It had been a crazy few days for him. As he mulled everything over, something clicked suddenly. He jolted up, his eyes glazed over. '_It couldn't be, could it?_' He thought. '_Her hair glowed… she was in the place that was supposed to hold the magic, her hair… No way. Rapunzel, you __**are **__the magic?'_

* * *

_**A/N; This took longer to update than I expected. I had a bit of a block so I couldn't write much. But all my ideas came flooding in, how to word it and everything. I was so relieved. So now, I've already started the next chapter, So hopefully it won't be long. :D **_

_**I want to say a HUGE thank you! To everyone who's either following/faved or reviewing this story. It makes me really happy to see when somebody does any of these things :D **_

_**And also thank you to my constant reviewers, you guys are amazing (: **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disney Owns Tangled.**_

_A/N: I'M SO SORRY for this VERY late update – but you know how it is: Life happened. College work, University applications, Interviews (one on friday) I know this won't nearly be worth ALL the time you've been waiting for it, since it's not great and it's short, but I want to thank those you haven't given up on it and are reading this right now. Thank you. Enjoy._

* * *

_**Always Be**_

_Chapter 7_

Flynn continued sitting at the bar, stunned by his latest discovery. _Could it really be true?_ He thought to himself, remembering the girl he had met only a day earlier. His mind went blank as he pushed himself up and ran out of the door, in the direction of her house. As he ran, he thought of everything to do with the magic that Rapunzel had. His eyes then widened as he realised that the Stabbington brothers could well be in her home right now, or worse they could already have her. Even if Flynn was smarter than those two brothers, they certainly wouldn't stop until they found her, they destroy things to get to Rapunzel, to get the magic she has. Flynn's heart pounded as he ran through the forest, knowing full well that no matter how fast he ran, he wouldn't get to her house any sooner, it would still take a day.

As the sun set that day, Flynn found a small cave and settled down for the night. He laid on his back, his hands behind his head as he thought about Rapunzel. How on earth would he approach her about this if the Stabbington brothers hadn't reached her yet, and worse what if they had and he was too late? Flynn's eyes were heavy as he allowed sleep to take him.

* * *

Rapunzel sat on her bed, Pascal sitting on her lap looking up at her. She looked down at Pascal and smiled.

"Well, at least I have three days left without Mother. So at least we don't have to worry too much about anything."

Pascal nodded and smiled with obvious relief for his friend, he was happy that she wouldn't have to deal with what that woman did to her. Even if Pascal didn't particularly like the man that was here a few days ago, he wished that he would've taken Rapunzel away from all of this. Pascal believed that his friend deserved to be taken away from that horrible woman.

* * *

Flynn's eyes opened as he sat up and stretched. His eyes adjusted to the morning sun and he stood up yawning. Today was the day that he'd get back to Rapunzel. Without a second thought he began walking towards her house. Flynn surprised himself by the amount he was able to run the day before and actually ended up closer to her house than he'd originally thought he would've been. As only a few hours later he was faced with that same huge rock with the vines behind it, hiding the pathway to Rapunzel's house. Before he entered he looked around, making sure nobody was watching him. He was positive that no one had followed him, he was Flynn Rider after all, and no one could sense other people better than him. Sure that nobody was around, he parted the vines and walked down the pathway until he ended up outside her house.

* * *

Rapunzel continued sketching in her pad, creating long, dark strokes with her pencil, followed by a bit of shading. She looked at Pascal who nodded in approval at her drawing. Rapunzel smiled back before continuing with the shading. Since Flynn had broken into her home a few nights before Rapunzel kept a frying pan in one of her drawers. It had knocked him out after all. Whenever Rapunzel thought about that, she found it kind of funny. She knew she probably shouldn't laugh, but she really couldn't help it, so she let out a small giggle. Pascal looked up at her confused as to what she was laughing at, but happy to see his friend finding enjoyment from something. As if on cue, a loud thump sounded downstairs. Pascal jumped onto Rapunzel's arm and she picked him up and placed him on her shoulder before gripping the handle of her trusty frying pan. Rapunzel backed up against the wall next to her bedroom door and waited. The door knob rattled before it was opened by the intruder. Rapunzel gripped tighter onto the frying pan and held it above her head ready to strike the person.

"Blondie? You here?"

Knowing that voice, Rapunzel lowered the frying pan and dropped it on the floor. Flynn jumped back a bit due to the sound of the frying pan hitting the floor and looked behind him, seeing Rapunzel.

"Flynn? What are you doing here?"

Flynn looked at Rapunzel, "What is it with you and frying pans?" He laughed.

Rapunzel picked up the frying pan and laughed a little. "Well, it worked on you, didn't it?"

He laughed and shrugged, "True."

Rapunzel placed the frying pan on her bed and sat down, Pascal moving to sit on her lap. "So, why did you come back here Flynn?" She said as she looked up at him.

Flynn struggled with his wording for a moment, "Err, you know... well.. I wanted to check up on you?" He looked down at her as her eyebrow raised.

"You... wanted to check up on me? Really?" She found that hard to believe, there must be another reason why he came back. Rapunzel really didn't believe he came back because he felt sorry for her or out of the goodness of his heart. That wasn't Flynn. And he knew she wasn't buying that.

He sighed heavily, "Fine. I need to talk to you about something."

Honestly, Rapunzel was worried about this. Even if she didn't know what it was about, the tone of his voice wasn't particularly happy. Flynn sat down next to her,

"Listen, the other night... when I was here, I saw something. It was weird, your hair... it -"

Rapunzel's eyes widened. _He saw. _She knew this wasn't a good thing, there was a reason why her mother had kept her hidden away. People wanted her hair, to use it themselves. However, Rapunzel also knew that she couldn't get herself out of this one, if Flynn had just seen a glow, fine, she could've lied. But he actually saw her hair glow, that's different. There's no way she could lie out of that, even if she tried, she was pretty sure that Flynn would be able to tell.

"It glowed right?" Rapunzel looked at him.

Flynn nodded.

Rapunzel ran her fingers through her hair, "This may sound crazy..." she paused. "Flynn, I kind of have magic hair."

Flynn just looked at her, unmoving. So it was true, Rapunzel was the magic. This changed everything. However much he wanted that magic, to be eternally young, he couldn't use Rapunzel like that. Flynn didn't understand what was going on with him recently... This single girl had changed his plans. He continued to stare at Rapunzel. Even if she hadn't actually changed him... Even if he was still the same thieving Flynn Rider, he couldn't take her and use her magic like he originally wanted to.

Flynn stood up suddenly with slight panic and faced Rapunzel, "Blondie, you're coming with me."

"W-What? No i'm not." Rapunzel looked at Flynn in disbelief.

"Yes you are. I'm getting you out of here. You have to leave." Before she could answer, Flynn grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"What the hell are you doing Flynn?! Let go of me now!" She yelled to him as she struggled out of his grip.

"Blondie.. Shut up!"

Pascal held on to Rapunzel's shoulder and squeaked at Flynn.

Flynn pulled Rapunzel with him as he walked down the stairs, into the living room until he found himself standing face to face with the Stabbington brothers.

Flynn looked at them, "This house belongs to her."

"And the magic?" The oldest brother asked.


End file.
